Once you find a luxury villa near Florence and begin exploring the city, trying out the restaurants, visiting the galleries, shopping a little and touring all of the attractions, you may find that the cost of everything begins to quickly add up. If you want to keep having the time of your life, without scrimping on fun or experiences, then check out our series on things to do for free around the city that will leave you with a little extra cash in your pocket.
The Rose Garden in Florence is the perfect oasis of calm, quiet and relaxation. It brings together art from Belgian artist Folon, roses and stunning panoramic views across the city and, best of all, it's completely free to visit and is open from morning until nightfall. Only open to the public year round for a few years now, it is a little-known gem and a must-see for anyone visiting the city. The garden is home to a collection of 400 different varieties of roses, 1000 botanical varieties, lemons, and other plants, a Japanese garden and sculptures by the artist Folon dotted playfully here and there.
The Rose Garden in Florence is the perfect oasis of calm, quiet and relaxation. It brings together art from Belgian artist Folon, roses and stunning panoramic views across the city and, best of all, it's completely free to visit and is open from morning until nightfall. Only open to the public year round for a few years now, it is a little-known gem and a must-see for anyone visiting the city. The garden is home to a collection of 400 different varieties of roses, 1000 botanical varieties, lemons, and other plants, a Japanese garden and sculptures by the artist Folon dotted playfully here and there.
Located in the Oltrarno area below Piazzale Michelangelo, on viale Giuseppe Poggi. It was created in 1865 by Giuseppe Poggi, Attilio Pucci redesigned the space into an area full of terraces and walls to house a wonderful collection of roses, the garden was enlarged with a space called the Japanese Shorai oasis and a Zen Temple in 1998 by Japanese architect Yasuo Kitayama, and 12 lovely and whimsical sculptures by Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon were donated by his widow to the city in 2011. Before this addition, the garden was only open in May and June when the roses were in bloom but it can now be enjoyed even when the roses aren't blooming.
If you're interested in doing something indoors, the Rodolfo Siviero Museum is a good option and one of the few museums of its type that are free to enter. Housed in a lovely Neo-Renaissance building that was once home to Rodolfo Siviero, an art collector, it is now a free museum.
If you're interested in doing something indoors, the Rodolfo Siviero Museum is a good option and one of the few museums of its type that are free to enter. Housed in a lovely Neo-Renaissance building that was once home to Rodolfo Siviero, an art collector, it is now a free museum.
The collection is wide and diverse and made up of Etruscan findings, Roman busts, 14th- and 15th-century wooden statues, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque paintings, objets d'art and modern Italian works. It is an extraordinary little museum and slightly off the beaten track of the regular tourist route, making it a nice budget-friendly option that is also less chaotic than some of the city's other museums.
Read on to our final installment in this series for some more things to do for free in Florence.
Read on to our final installment in this series for some more things to do for free in Florence.